Metro Basketball Report: Final Ranking

Another season of
college basketball in the New York City area is complete, and it’s another year
of teams from leagues other than the Big East carrying the flag. Marist, who won
the MAAC regular season crown outright for the first time in school history, got
over the disappointment of not winning their conference tournament by winning at
Oklahoma State in the MasterCard NIT. Hofstra, predicted by many as a team with
a chance to be “this year’s George Mason”, wasn’t able to make the NCAA
Tournament but they did notch their second straight postseason bid. After that,
the area schools had to put the balls away until next season.

As of right now,
Iona is the only school looking for a new head coach, and this due primarily to
the fact that a few programs have recently made new hires. Look for the next
head man in New Rochelle to have some significant connections to the area in
order to help out with recruiting, something that a school can fall behind on
the longer they go without a head coach. 2006-07 was a down year for many of the
schools, but due to the amount of young talent slated to return, 2007-08 should
be a much better year for New York City college basketball.

2006-07 Final
Rankings

1.
Marist (last poll: 1): In addition to their first-ever outright MAAC crown,
the Red Foxes won a school-record 25 games, and got the school’s first
postseason win. Significant departures from the program include honorable
mention All-American point guard Jared Jordan (two-time national assist
champion), sharp shooting guard Will Whittington and seven foot center James
Smith. Head coach Matt Brady will have a pair of four-year transfers at his
disposal in Louie McCroskey (Syracuse) and Ryan Schneider (Vermont). But the
most important newcomers may be freshman guards Jay Gavin (Forestville, MD) and
Jeremiah Bowman (White Plains, MD).

Regardless of who takes over in the backcourt, there are some big shoes to fill.
Look for returning starters Ryan Stilphen and Ben Farmer to have a larger impact
on the Marist attack, but this team will be hard-pressed to match this season’s
success. But if you’re expecting the Red Foxes to become a doormat in the MAAC,
you’ll learn the hard way that they still have some talent on campus. Stock
heading into 2007-08: down.

2.
Hofstra (2): The Pride, despite the loss of forwards Aurimas Kieza and
Adrian Uter, found a way to reach the twenty win plateau on the backs of their
three-headed guard attack. Loren Stokes and Carlos Rivera are out of
eligibility, leaving Antoine Agudio at the reigns in Hempstead. But the entire
supporting cast this season returns, including bigs Chris Gadley and Mike Davis-Sabb,
who learned a few lessons in the paint this season. Look for them, along with
perimeter players Greg Johnson and Zygis Sestokas, to step up in larger roles
next season.

Coming
into the program are a pair of guards (Devon Peterson and Nathaniel Lester) from
Brooklyn, along with another body inside (junior college transfer Darren
Townes). Look for all three to have an impact next year, but they will be
hard-pressed to completely fill the space left by Stokes and Rivera. Stock
heading into 2007-08: down.

3.
Fordham (7): If you’re trying to figure out which team in the NYC area has
the best shot to make the NCAA Tournament next year, then Fordham may be your
pick. In finishing the season 18-12, the Rams put together back-to-back seasons
without a losing record for the first time since the 1990-91 and 1991-92
seasons. In case you forgot, the Rams were a member of the Patriot League when
this occurred. Guard Marcus Stout has improved his scoring average in each of
his three seasons in the Bronx, and forward Bryant Dunston once again was named
All-Atlantic 10.

Offensive consistency was something that plagued the Rams throughout the season
last year, but look for things to improve next season. No recruiting commitments
have been announced as of yet, but with all their key parts returning next
season, Dereck Whittenburg’s Rams will be a team to watch in the Atlantic 10 in
2007-08. Stock heading into 2007-08: up.

4.
Sacred Heart (5): The Pioneers improved significantly in 2006-07, going from
seventh to second place, and five points stood between them and an NCAA
Tournament bid when it was all said and done. Head coach Dave Bike had a number
of offensive options at his disposal, led by senior guard Jarrid Frye. Eight
Pioneers averages at least eight points per game this season, and this is why
they led the Northeast Conference in scoring at 78.5 points per game. Other than
Frye and Tavio Hobson, the team returns intact, looking to make a run to the
NCAA Tournament. No recruiting commitments have been announced at this time.
Stock heading into 2007-08: up.

5.
St. John’s (3): If you look at this past season for the Red Storm with the
“glass half full” perspective, then you’d point out that St. John’s qualified
for the Big East Tournament for the first time in four seasons. “Glass half
empty”: you’d state that St. John’s shouldn’t have the goal of merely qualifying
for the event, which is played on their “home court”. Once again the Red Storm
were without the services of guard Daryll Hill due to knee issues, and once
again this team had trouble putting the ball in the basket at times. Besides
Hill, Norm Roberts will have to find a way to replace forwards Lamont Hamilton
and Aaron Spears.

Forward
Anthony Mason Jr. continued his progress, and look for him to be option number
one next season. Heady guard Eugene Lawrence returns for his senior campaign,
and there were some shining moments for freshman forward Qa’rraan Calhoun at the
end of the season. Add to this highly touted recruits on the interior (C Dele
Coker and PF Justin Burrell), and there is a chance for the Red Storm to build
on the progress made this year despite losing Avery Patterson and Ricky Torres
(transfers). Red Storm fans will also enjoy watching freshman guard Malik Boothe,
who despite being only 5’7” gives in to no one on the court. Whether or not St.
John’s improves their standing in the Big East remains to be seen, but Red Storm
fans have never been known to be patient. Stock heading into 2007-08: down.

6.
Fairfield (4): Despite losing All-MAAC guard Michael Van Schaick and
classmate Danny Oglesby to graduation, the Stags are headed in the right
direction under head coach Ed Cooley. They struggled mightily out of the gates
this season, starting the year with a 3-15 record before going on a seven-game
win streak to make things interesting in the middle of the MAAC standings. A 4-4
finish to the season doesn’t do the amount of progress made by this team proper
justice. Freshman forwards Greg Nero and Anthony Johnson were outstanding at
times in the paint, and the team also received contributions from freshman Roi
Buchbinder and veterans Marty O’Sullivan and Mamadou Diakhate in the paint.

Add to
this returning group (as of this time, there was no announcement as to whether
or not O’Sullivan would be back next season) starting guards Jonathan Han and
Herbie Allen and you have a group that could definitely compete for the MAAC’s
automatic bid in 2007-08. And with incoming freshmen Warren Edney (Chatham, VA)
and Yorel Hawkins (Apex, NC), the Stags will have some depth on the perimeter.
Stock heading into 2007-08: up.

7. Fairleigh Dickinson (6): Despite predictions of impending doom from
people such as me, the Knights put together a decent 2006-07, finishing in a
three-way tie for fourth in the NEC. Of course they dropped their last four to
end the season, including a 78-77 heartbreaker to Quinnipiac in the NEC
Quarterfinals, but that shouldn’t take away from what this team was able to
accomplish. The Knights ended league champion Central Connecticut State’s twelve
game win streak with a 66-60 home victory on February 17th.
Unfortunately for head coach Tom Green, he’s going to have to find a way to
replace forwards Andre Harris and Michael Peeples, two of the team’s top three
scorers this past season. Incoming freshmen John Galvin (Weston, CT) and Jordan
Stasyszyn (Carlisle, PA) are two players that will have a chance to compete for
playing time in the fall. Stock heading into 2007-08: down, but not by much.

8.
Manhattan (8): Like conference rival Fairfield, the Jaspers were a young
team in search of an identity early in the season due to a coaching change. But
unlike the Stags, Manhattan does not lose an all-conference performer heading
into next season. Only Guy Ngarndi is graduating, leaving Head Coach Barry
Rohrssen with a good amount of talent at his disposal next year. Freshmen Darryl
Crawford and Antoine Pearson saw a lot of minutes in the backcourt, and
sophomore Devon Austin was the team’s leading scorer. The only disappointment
for the Jaspers was the play down the stretch of big man Arturo Dubois, who
seemed to disappear down the stretch at times.

Six
foot eight center Alanzo George (Brooklyn, NY) is the only recruit slated to
join the program at this time, but if you remember the success that Coach
Rohrssen and his staff had in signing talent after being hired, you know that
there will be some more newcomers added to the fold before classes start in
September. Heading into their MAAC quarterfinal with Siena, I thought that both
teams had a chance to meet next season with a little more on the line. I stand
by that statement. Stock heading into 2007-08: up.

9.
Seton Hall (9): The Pirates, in their first year under Bobby Gonzalez, were
done in by their lack of size. Freshman Eugene Harvey and junior Brian Laing
were both honored by the Big East coaches for their efforts this season, but the
Pirates’ lack of depth is what did them in this season. On a good note, John
Garcia was finally able to see some time inside, but of course this happened
right around the time that senior Grant Billmeier was lost for the year to an
ACL tear. Stan Gaines provided some help on the block, but the Pirates plan was
to use their quickness to turn opponents over, something that they did quite
well in fact (they led the Big East with 10.3 steals per game).

With
other contributors such as Paul Gause, Jamar Nutter and Larry Davis returning
next season, the key will be how much help the Pirates get from their newcomers
inside. Brandon Walters (Brooklyn, NY), Augustine Okosun (Bryn Mawr, PA) and
Michael Glover (Bronx. NY, brother of former St. John’s star Anthony Glover)
will all be asked to contribute inside for the Hall. As much fun as small ball
was at times last year, size is something that is always a necessity in the Big
East. Hopefully the newcomers will be able to help out in that area. Stock
heading into 2007-08: steady.

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About Raphielle Johnson

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Background

College sports has always been a source of excitement for Raphielle Johnson, be it through watching, writing, or taking a shot in the dark and walking onto a college football team just to live the life (Arizona Football, 2001). Raphielle is the assistant editor, providing his own work in addition to helping out with the site operations. When not writing for CHN, you can usually find him in front of a television set watching one of many pay-per-view sports packages that he owns. He can be followed at twitter.com/raphiellej.